You Can Never Tell
by TammyCat
Summary: Movieverse.Bumblebee landed on Earth in 2003. Ever wonder where he was and what he was doing before he met Sam in 2007?
1. Chapter 1

**I'm back again. I'm sure everyone is aware that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen comes out in June, and I'm sure I'm not the only one with it marked on my calender ^_^  
After reading the 2007 movie prequel comic I started thinking about what Bumblebee did between when he landed and when he found Sam. This bunny came up. So enjoy, I just wanted to put this up before the new movie came out.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer for entire story: I don't own Transformers.****Chapter 1**

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**Chapter 1**

Bumblebee streaked through space. His goal was too far in front of him for visual contact but still close enough for it to appear on his long-range scans, the organic planet where he suspected the Allspark had landed. The almost non-existent vapor trail had led him to this far off galaxy, a whole lot further from Cybertron than he ever expected to go.

Bumblebee felt an ache in his spark as he thought of the dying planet he had left behind. He was so far from home and yet he knew that there was nowhere else he would allow himself to be. It was because of him that the Allspark had been sent off into space, he'd been the one to activate the detonator and he would be the one to bring it back. That was why he was following the faint trail of their life-giving energy source with the hope that he would be able to return it to Cybertron. Unfortunately it also meant tracking the most evil being the universe had ever seen.

Pushing the memories of his confrontation with Megatron away before they could surface properly Bumblebee reminded himself that it was his responsibility to find and protect the Allspark, he wouldn't fail again.

He had detected the Allspark's last power surge several thousand light-years back; he fully expected to receive another soon. The Allspark sent out an energy pulse every thousand years, so that any Cybertronian out amongst the stars would know where home was. At the moment he was using Megatron's lingering energy trail to keep track of them.

A chime went off in his head. It was time to send an update to Optimus Prime and the others. Detailing a quick radio transmission with his current coordinates and trajectory, he sent the burst of energy back towards to Ark. By the time they received it though, Bumblebee would be that much closer to where he suspected the Allspark to be located. The large wet ball of a planet was just beyond his visual range, he would be there soon.

* * *

A light flashed on the communications console aboard the large transport vessel. A screen flickered to life, accompanying the small light in alerting the occupants of the bridge to the electronic communiqué.

"Prime, we have a transmission from Bumblebee."

"What does it say?"

Ratchet transferred the information to the main screen. "As you can see, someone has to teach that scrapling how to put together a report."

Optimus Prime nodded, only vaguely absorbing the medic's words as he studied the message. Apparently his youngest warrior had found a deviation in the Allspark's path. A multitude of reasons why the Allspark's course might have changed ran through his processor, none conclusive but at least he had an idea of what could have happened.

"Jazz, alter our course to follow Bumblebee."

"Yes, sir."

Optimus watched several dials as they showed the slight alteration's in the Ark's steering and navigational equipment. It would take them longer than he would like for them to catch up with the small scout but there was no way of forcing any more speed out of the ship. It was a transport ship not a battle cruiser.

Although the view from the portholes didn't change, Prime could detect the minor movements of the stars as the Ark changed course to follow Bumblebee's coordinates into a different galaxy. He settled deeper in his chair. It was going to be a long journey before they got anywhere near the Allspark again.

* * *

_Virginia, 2003_

The thick atmosphere tore at Bumblebee's protective protoform shell, burning and ripping pieces off as he hurtled through the last several hundred feet into less oppressive space. The air around him cooled significantly as he continued to plummet, the planets' own gravity pulled him down faster.

Breaking through a haze of condensed moisture Bumblebee got his first good 'look' at the organic planet. A momentary flicker of panic ran through his systems. What had appeared as a mostly watery planet, now looked far more solid and potentially pain-inducing. The wide green and brown mess grew on Bumblebee's sensors as the distance between them diminished.

Changing his trajectory slightly Bumblebee managed to avoid slamming full-force into the planet. He skimmed over its surface, brushing the tips of tall green spires before burrowing into a mount of dirt and rock. Satisfied that he had stopped moving for the time being, Bumblebee activated the programs that would release him from his inter-stellar form.

The metal casing around him heated rapidly. Molten metal dripped off him to pool on the ground. As soon as all the panels had been released from their protective insulation Bumblebee focused on transforming, the smooth motion of gears, feeling the familiar sensations as his body contorted and morphed to become something different.

Once he was fully bipedal, Bumblebee gingerly stepped out of the crater he had created. Environmental sensors went haywire as the analyzed his new and exotic surroundings. He stood perfectly still as he processed each and every different piece of information. When his sensors finally stopped telling him that something unknown was nearby, Bee re-set the parameters on his environmental sensors to be far less sensitive. As it was, his curiosity had been roused by the strangeness of his surroundings. He'd been on organic planets before and they were hugely different from each other.

Taking a cautious step towards an area his audio receptors told him there was activity, Bumblebee was careful to remain hidden from any indigenous life-forms. There was no telling how the unknown creatures were going to react.

* * *

Bumblebee watched as the terrestrial machines raced along the paved road. They weren't too different from the vehicular forms of his brothers on Cybertron but there were some significant characteristics that wouldn't go unnoticed considering the style of vehicles passing him. Deciding that using his own alt-form might draw too much attention he waited for an appropriate form to scan. The details of the next vehicle to come within transcanning range were quickly absorbed into Bumblebee's neural network.

Concentrating on his transformation sequence again, Bumblebee felt the shape of his armor change to accommodate his new appearance. When the change was complete he tested his new form. The overall position was the same as his previous alt-form but he was lower to the ground and his engine was located in the front and there seemed to be a lot of empty room in his tail end. In fact, the majority of his systems appeared to be situated in his front end or unprotected undercarriage. How did the creatures on this planet protect themselves from attack if they had absolutely no armor guarding their delicate internal systems?

Bumblebee pulled out onto the road and followed the other vehicles. Re-sensitizing his radar to detect any sort of aggressive behavior he'd ever encountered before, he prepared to face the locals. There was no telling what the native life-forms of this planet were capable of, especially if they were keeping the Allspark hidden from his sensors. And it had to be here somewhere; the last energy burst the Allspark had let out had come from this planet. This landmass in fact, he just couldn't find it.

Bumblebee cringed at the thought of his Autobot friends reaction to his losing track of the Allspark after coming so far to find it. He squashed the teasing tone of Jazz's voice his mind conjured. He didn't need any distractions at the moment, he needed to find the Allspark and protect it from the Decepticons until Optimus Prime and the others arrived.

The sounds of the machines around him brought Bumblebee back to his surroundings. The vehicles, each one inhabited by one or more organic creatures, were making loud noises and emitting noxious fumes. Unsure whether this was an intimidation technique or challenge, he kept quiet and stayed in the outer most line of machines.

Unable to get a lock on the electrical signals in the air, Bumblebee continued to follow the vehicle in front of him. Eventually more dwellings appeared on his scanners. The organic beings that Bee had first associated with the machines now started to became more numerous. Organics of different size and color but with a fairly similar shape were more prevalent as the buildings grew taller and closer together.

He patrolled the maze of streets, not sure of what he was searching for. The organic creatures roamed almost aimlessly in and out of buildings.

Unsure of where to go and unwilling to reveal himself, Bumblebee backed into a small lane that he hadn't seen the creatures entering.

The electronic buzzing that he'd noticed earlier was still ringing in his audios. Now was a good enough time to investigate the strange signal. Hoping that he wasn't opening himself up to a virtual virus, that would be an embarrassing discussion with Ratchet, he reached out will all his sensors, tracking the wave-length to the closest access point.

Pulling out from his hiding place, Bumblebee made his way towards the interface. Information flooded his processor as he made contact. Sifting through a minute percentage, he started studying.

Several minutes later he had absorbed most of the planet's history but still hadn't found an answer to his question. Where would the Allspark have landed?

Before he got a chance to dig further, a pair of flashing lights on top of a black and white vehicle appeared around a corner. As the machine went past, the two humans inside watched him suspiciously.

Deciding that he would need to find a more secure place to search through the information, Bumblebee roused his engine and left his hiding place. Knowing that discretion was needed he activated his holo-emitter. The image of a human he'd scanned appeared behind his steering wheel.

Still connected to the World Wide Web, Bumblebee located himself on a map of the planet. He would need to get far enough away from his landing place to be sure that no terrestrials were following him.

Choosing a city at random, he gunned his engine and aimed for the nearest highway.

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**What did you think? Please leave a review and let me know.**

**TammyCat**


	2. Chapter 2

**Just a short one today. Hope you enjoy it. Thank you for the reviews ^_^**

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Chapter 2

_May, 2003 – St Louis, Missouri._

Bumblebee pulled into a petrol station, thankful when a young male ran out to assist him. His holoform was capable of operating the machinery but it would have meant feeding the particles enough energy to solidify, and Bumblebee was just too tired. He barely had enough power to keep his main systems online.

The petroleum fuel flooded his tanks and Bumblebee relaxed. The crude fuel was not an appropriate substitute for energon but it was the best this planet had to offer. The chemical make-up of 'diesel' fuel had reacted badly to his systems, causing him to shut down for several days as his repair units fixed the damage, and there was no way he would use any sort of gas to fuel himself. He might explode like one of Wheeljack's experiments. As it was, it had taken him far longer than he would have liked to change his systems enough to assimilate the liquid.

Finally he was able to send enough power to his holo-emitter to allow a hard-light hologram. He entered the building and paid for the fuel. It had taken him several days before he had been able to hack into the country's treasury. Bee knew he was stealing from them, but surely he would be paying them back by protecting them from the Decepticons.

Leaving the fuel depot behind, Bumblebee started his search for an appropriate resting area. A multi-storey carpark provided the shelter he was looking for.

Settled comfortably in a corner, Bee searched the internet for any sign of his target. Using 'Allspark' and 'Megatron' hadn't yielded any viable prospects, not that he thought they would but it had been worth a try. Now he was looking for anything that could possibly have a connection to the Allspark. The only reference point he had was the location of its last signal, and that had been generated roughly two thousand terrestrial years earlier. The chance that it hadn't been disturbed in the intervening years was extremely unlikely, especially since it was now hidden from his sensors.

A potential result caught his attention. An image of an elderly human standing infront of a wooden vessel. The accompanying story was about their quest into the frozen climates of the northern parts of the planet. The part that caught Bumblebee's attention thought, was the mention of a giant metal man frozen in the ice.

Could this human have found Megatron?

Fear edged into Bee's processor as he thought back to his confrontation with the tyrant. He'd been left for dead with the rest of his team mates unable to help him. He wouldn't let that happen to this planet.

With some trepidation he searched for any other mentions of the 'metal man' or anything similar. The only result was the old article.

Bumblebee changed his search and focused on the human instead. After the arctic mission it said that the male had gone blind and mad. He was then locked away in an asylum were he died. The details of the article were less important than the designs shown on the walls of the room. They were Cybertronian markings. If the male had drawn them after he had lost his eyesight, they must have been imprinted on his optical core.

Excitement filled his spark as he tried to read them. He could only make out a handful of words since they were so poorly rendered. His enthusiasm faded as he recalled the line that referred to the human's demise. Bee was stupefied for a moment. Did that mean he wouldn't be able to find any clues on the Allspark's location?

He searched the provided image again, trying to decipher more of the symbols. Nothing.

A sudden thought had Bumblebee bringing up the first image. The human wore lenses over his optical sensors. Searching for the appropriate terminology his excitement grew once again. According to the image, the human would have been wearing his corrective spectacles during the mission and if the Cybertronian symbols had been burned onto the human's retinas then the coordinates must also be on the glasses.

That led Bumblebee to another question. What had happened to the male's personal possessions? Had they been destroyed with the body or had they been distributed?

Bumblebee's task suddenly seemed to grow to monumental proportions. He now had to find out what had happened to the glasses, find who had them (if they hadn't been destroyed), obtain them, find the Allspark and protect it and the humans from the Decepticons until the Autobots arrived.

Getting his vocalizer to function properly seemed far more likely.

Stuffing down the growing unease, Bumblebee reminded himself to focus on one thing at a time. There was no point in worrying about the Allspark's safety if he didn't know where it was.

Comforted by that logic, Bee went back to the task at hand; finding the humans' descendents.

A short while later he had hacked into the country's database and collected a list of humans related to Captain Archibald Witwicky. The human appeared to have three offspring of his own and each of those humans had one or more progeny, and any one of them could be in possession of the spectacles. The task once again grew to unmanageable size. With an internal sigh Bumblebee saved the list of names and looked up the addresses of his next targets. Two lived in nearby states but the third was close to the opposite coast.

It looked like his road-trip was far from over. He settled low on his tyres and shut down his systems. He'd begin the next leg of his journey tomorrow, or in a few days, right now he needed to recharge.

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**It'll pick up soon, I promise. I'll be sticking pretty closely to the prequal but adding my own bits and pieces. Please review and let me know what you think.**

**TammyCat**


	3. Chapter 3

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July, 2003 – Chicago, Illinois.

The town was fairly large in human standards. The buildings were taller than some he'd seen in the other habitations he had passed.

That said, it was still far smaller than anything Bumblebee was used to. The cities on Cybertron were massive pieces of exquisite metal architecture. The planet itself would have dwarfed Earth by a great deal.

A wave of homesickness washed over Bumblebee before he could guard against it. When would his journey end? When would he get to see his beloved yet decimated home again?

Pushing away these depressing thoughts, he focused on the next part of his mission.

Finding the glasses.

His target, a female descendent of Archibald Witwicky, lived on the opposite side pf this town with a bonded male and two progeny. She now bore a different name to the one she was created with but Bumblebee was sure he had found the right human.

The sun had already sunk below the horizon when Bee decided to stop. He would spend the next several days getting closer to the human's residence and find out if they possessed the glasses. If they didn't, he would leave and search out the next descendent.

Following the same procedure as in the other habitations, Bumblebee located a large collection of vehicles and parked amongst them.

* * *

"Dad, what are we doing here?" Rose studied the beat-up wrecks, each one as broken and rusted as the next. This was the last time she was letting her father buy her a car.

"I told you I'd buy you a car for your birthday." He seemed excited yet put out at Rose's indifferent attitude.

Pasting on a smile to make her father feel better, Rose began browsing through the caryard. She couldn't imagine herself in any of these rust-buckets. That one was missing three windows, that one had no steering wheel, and that one was propped up on cinderblocks. The list of defects went on.

Sending her gaze across the cars, she finally saw one she wouldn't mind. A silver Dodge Omni. Hope rose in her as she hurried to check it out. Rose looked it over critically; it had all of its windows, no mirrors were smashed, upholstery was in relatively good condition and all dashboard components were accounted for.

Rose was about to call for her father when her practical side butted in. casting a look at the wrecks around her, Rose eyed the Omni with suspicion. Why would a perfectly good car be sitting next to a hit-and-run victim? If it was in this dealership it almost definitely had a flaw of some sort. Laying her hands under the hood, she searched for the latch. The hood popped opened.

Yep, major flaw. The car had no engine.

Slamming the bonnet back down in frustration, Rose scowled at the almost suitable car. Was there anything here that came even remotely close?

Across the yard Rose saw her father fluttering around what was no doubt a mechanics nightmare. Tensing, Rose prepared to pull her father down off his cloud. Rose was still several yards away when she saw a salesman approach her father. Making sure the man saw her, Rose sent him the fiercest warming glare she could muster, getting the hint the man quickly diverted his course towards a different customer.

When Rose saw the machine that had caught Charles Robbertson's attention she almost died. It was as rusty as she was blonde, only the faintest hint of what its color had been was visible. Rose sent her critical eye over the rest of the vehicle; both side-mirrors were broken, the windows were dirty and scratched, it was missing its rear bumper and, dear Lord!, it was sitting on cinderblocks.

"Dad, maybe we should look somewhere else?" Rose suggested.

Her father spun around. "Rose! Have a look at this. It's fantastic!"

"Dad, I have a feeling that, if I kicked it, it would blow up." That's if it wasn't gutted as well.

"No, sweetheart! Thomas Jenkins could have this fixed up in a snap." He was practically glowing with excitement.

"I don't think so, as good as Tommy is, I don't think even he could make a car out of this." Rose felt a stab of guilt as some of the light drained from his face.

"Oh well, how about that Dodge over there?"

"It doesn't have an engine. But um," Rose knew she would be kicking herself later. "There's a whole other section we haven't looked at yet."

The excitement returned to her father's face and he led the way. _Yep, I'll be hating myself in half an hour._

Rose was wrong. It took her only ten minutes before she found herself wanting to gouge her eyes out with a screwdriver. A rusty screwdriver.

Her father dragged her to at least a dozen different cars, each with their own set of safety hazards. He even found one that might have been a sports car…in 1914.

Heaving a sigh, Rose let her father explain the pros and cons of each 'car' as though he was Jeremy Clarkson from _Top Gear_. Just to stop the commentary on a Fiesta, Rose looked around for the most undestroyed vehicle that was closest. Her gaze landed on a shockingly yellow muscle car. It was slightly rusty but it was nothing Tommy couldn't handle. Grabbing her father's hand, Rose pulled him to the brightly colored Camaro.

As if he were a qualified mechanic instead of office management, Charles looked the car over. Rose was actually quite surprised to see that there wasn't much wrong with it except the minor rust. But with the Omni still in her mind, she ran her fingers around the bonnet for the latch. Upon finding it Rose held her breath and pulled, a startled gasp escaped her as she stared down at a confection of chrome and plastic. Rose quickly shut it again, even with the limited mechanical knowledge she had, she knew that an engine like that would be powerful and expensive. So, why was it here?

Pushing her suspicions aside, she grabbed her father's arm. "Daddy, I want this one."

Charles looked unsure. "I don't know, isn't it a b–"

Rose cut him off. "If you say 'a boy's car' I will tell Mom what you said about Aunt Judy."

The blood drained from her father's face as he no doubt envisioned his wife's reaction. He quickly pulled out his checkbook. Rose smiled triumphantly, she had been using that ever since she was ten, and it always worked.

With the transaction complete, Rose drove off in her new car. First thing tomorrow morning she would take it down to Tommy and see if he could get in looking less like it had participated in a demolition derby.

* * *

The garage Tommy's father owned was a short five-minute drive from Rose's house. It would usually take her twice as long on her bike.

Rolling into the parking lot Rose quickly locked the car and entered through the work-area.

"Mornin', Rose." Tommy's father called from under a car.

"Morning, Paul. How did you know it was me?"

Paul Jenkins rolled out. "You have a very distinctive step. It's almost like the way those munchkins walked in the 'Wizard of Oz'."

Rose stuck her tongue out at the older man. Paul had been teasing her about her height for as long as she could remember. "Where's Travis this morning?"

"He was still in bed when I started work."

"Lazy bum." Rose laughed. "Catch ya later, Paul."

He waved and disappeared back under the car, humming the 'Lollypop Guild' song.

Entering the house attached to the business, Rose spotted her childhood friend. He was sitting at the kitchen table with a steaming cup. Rose leaned against the doorframe.

"Watcha drinking?"

The poor boy jumped, spilling some hot liquid over his hands.

"Rose!" Tommy wiped his hands clean. "I didn't hear you come in."

"I noticed. " She smiled as settled into the chair across from him.

"Morning Tom."

Rose turned to see her brother enter the kitchen. His sandy blonde hair hung damply over his eyes, his shirt was draped over a shoulder."

"Urgh! Put a shirt on, I did not come here to see that." She complained.

"Hello, Squirt. I didn't realize you were here. How did I miss that awful sound of your bicycle bell?" Travis pulled his shirt over his head and plunked down next to her.

"That's because I'm traveling in style now." Rose held up her keys, they made a light tinkling sound.

"You got a car?" Tommy asked.

"Yep." Rose smiled triumphantly.

Travis stood. "Let's go check it out."

Rose followed the boys out to her car. She stood back as they circled the machine. She kept silent, waiting for their opinions.

"Well, it is a car." Tommy said finally.

"Are you sure?" Travis asked as he inspected the rusting wheel-wells. "It looks more like a wreck on wheels."

Rose immediately jumped in to defend her car. "Hey! Your Civic didn't look nearly this good when you got it."

"True, but look at it now." He grinned at the shiny green car.

"And how much time and money have you spent on it?" Tommy asked. He turned to Rose. "Don't worry, Rose, I'm sure we can clean this thing up and have it looking as good as new."

"Where'd you get it from?"

"Wayne's Wonderful Wagons." Rose answered wincing. She shrugged as both males stared at her before exchanging a horrified look. "Okay, okay. I know that place is shitty, but Dad was doing his _Top Gear_ thing and he was the best looking car in the lot."

Tommy sent the Camaro a doubtful look. "All right. What does the engine look like?"

A small smile lifted Rose's lips as she thought of the powerful-looking engine. That would impress them at least a little, she was sure.

Rose waited for the admiring comments but instead heard frustrated growls. Moving to where she could see what they were doing Rose found both Travis and Tommy trying to lift the bonnet.

"There is a latch." Rose said helpfully.

"It's stuck."

"It wasn't yesterday. Here, let me try." Rose pushed her brother to the side. Sliding her fingers under the metal, she eased them along until she found the lock. With slight pressure the hood popped open. "There, all you needed was a lighter touch."

Rose stepped back as the males raised the sheet of metal high. Startled gasps greeted her ears.

"Rose, are you sure you got this at Wayne's?" Travis leaned over the shining engine.

"Yeah. I thought it was odd that a car with an engine like this would be going for three grand, but I didn't argue. Is the engine good?"

"Good?" Tommy looked like he had just seen heaven. "Street racers have engines like this." He spun to face her. "Would you be interested in having my Fiesta?"

Rose blinked. "If it's that good I think I might keep it."

Tommy looked heartbroken.

"You can work on it if you want." She offered in consolation.

His face brightened. "Sure. I'll get rid of that rust, check the gauges and maybe peek at that engine again."

"Uh, okay. Just be careful with him, he's from Wayne's remember."

* * *

Rose spent the next two weeks fluttering around the garage. Whenever he saw her, Paul would smile and wave her through to where her car was. The other men that worked at the mechanic's learned to time their day by Rose's appearances. Travis had warned her that it would take more than a couple of days to fix her car since it was such a broken-down wreck, and they were doing it as a favor and birthday present for her. She was prepared to wait.

Still having to use her bike to get to school, Rose spent as much time at the garage with her car as possible. Much to the dismay of others.

"Hey babe, how about a movie this weekend?"

Rose turned to see her boyfriend grinning charmingly at her. His black hair styled similar to that of a 1950's greaser, dark brown eyes glittered with amusement. Rose smiled back and was about to agree before remembering that her car was supposed to be finished on the weekend.

"I'd love to but Trav said my car will be all fixed up this weekend."

Josh stepped closer and slid his arms around her waist. "Well then, why don't we see the movie and then pick up your pretty new car."

Linking her fingers behind his neck, Rose tilted her head back and raised an eyebrow. "You just want to get me into a dark cinema." His widening grin confirmed it. Rose chuckled. "And the car's not necessarily 'pretty' or 'new'. I'd say it was more of a beat-up macho car."

"What is it?" He asked curiously.

"'76 Camaro."

Josh broke into laughter. He released her just so he could lean against the lockers and keep laughing. Rose frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's not that funny, Josh." She closed her locker and waited for him to stop.

The young man ignored her and kept laughing. When he finally moved onto little wheezes he looked up at her. "I'm sorry, babe, but you're a girl who wears skirts and make up."

"Chelsea wears skirts and make up." She snapped the lock shut.

"Yeah but you're a girly-girl. Your skirts don't show what's underneath like hers does."

Rose eyed his warily and wrapped an arm around his waist. His arm curled around her shoulders. They started walking.

"So, what movie did you want to see?"

He looked down at her grinning. "Horror?"

"No."

"Action?"

"Maybe."

"Not a chick flick."

Rose smiled. "I was thinking of the new one with Brad Pitt."

Josh groaned and hung his head. "No. I don't want to have to fight for your attention while we're there."

Rose's smile grew, she loved teasing him. "I'll meet you at one. Then we'll get my car?"

"Sure." He kissed her softly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She nodded and watched his walk away before unlocking her bike and heading to the garage.

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**What did you think? Please review and let me know.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the long delay. I have not been able to get anything out.**

**Thank you for the reviews ^_^**

**Enjoy!**

**

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**Chapter 4**

Bumblebee in and out of consciousness. The crash had taken more out of him than he'd originally thought. Warning signs flashed regularly, letting him know that certain pieces of equipment were going to fail shortly. On top of that, he was low on fuel and desperately craving energon. At this point he'd have it in any form; as a cube, a treat, he'd even take it crystallized.

What he needed above and before anything else, even continuing his search, was a proper recharge. Even better would be stasis lock. A short stint in stasis would allow his auto-repair systems to get him back into working order, they wouldn't be able to do anything about the dents and scratches on his outer paneling but that was merely cosmetic damage and less important.

A quick scan of his surroundings showed that he was no longer in the car yard but there were still other vehicles around him. In the end it wouldn't matter where he was, stasis lock would come on its own eventually. Bumblebee was just grateful he'd found his target before his body was forced into recharge.

Bumblebee's chronometer told him that it had been close to two earth weeks since he'd gone offline. He wasn't sure of his location but he did detect the presence of several organics…humans, he reminded himself.

The sounds that penetrated the hum and buzz of machinery were similar to those made by his friends on Cybertron; shouts and orders, conversation and cursing. Then there was what must be native music blaring from the other side of a wall. It was loud enough for Bumblebee to clearly monitor and analyse the speech patterns of the humans working near him. Logging them down, he managed to identify the three humans that spend the most time in his vicinity. Soft thuds heralded the arrival of two of these humans.

"Tommy, see if you can get it onto the lift. If the hunk of junk feels like cooperating today we might actually get it read worthy before the weekend."

Hands ran along his roof and moved toward his front. Nimble fingers, not very different from his own, found the handle on the door and pulled. He heard the human grunt and tug harder on the door. Deciding that he would be a cooperative 'hunk of junk', Bumblebee released his hold on his servos. The human yanked on the handle again and was thrown back with a yelp when it opened swiftly and cleanly

A loud sound came from his other side. "Hahaha! Hehehehe-hahaha! Tommy you're not getting paid to lie around."

The human on the ground groaned and sat up. "I'm not getting paid at all."

"That's right. You're hoping for some other reward." The other human replied smugly.

"Huh? N-no." The one designated as Tommy stammered.

"You can't deny it, it's too obvious."

There were a couple seconds of silence before. "Dude, she's your sister."

"I know, and she's smart. If Rose suddenly decides to dump that guy she's with and picks you up I won't stop her."

"Thanks, Travis, now that I have your blessing I'll be sure to do everything I can to steal her from her boyfriend." Tommy said dryly.

The one called 'Travis' made the loud sound again. Bumblebee realized her was laughing. Bee analyzed the sound; he hadn't heard laughter since he'd separated from the other Autobots.

A warm weight settled inside him, startling him from his thoughts. Tommy had just sat in the drivers seat, Bumblebee avoided shifting under the unfamiliar sensation. Small human hands ran over the motor controls and a frisson of electric sensation ran through him. Re-routing some power from his sensory receptors, he desensitized his internal mechanisms.

Usually being this close to alien creatures included some form torture or interrogation. It hadn't happened to Bee but he'd heard stories. These little organic beings, so much more primitive than himself, seemed more interested in repairing the damaged he'd sustained during his crash landing than the advanced technology he was made of. That was probably due to the fact that they thought he wasn't anything other than the vehicle he'd disguised himself as. Most definitely not a sentient robot.

Frequent scans of the vehicles he'd passed since landing had proved that the machines on this planet had no spark whatsoever.

The human inside him manipulated the controls and Bumblebee soon found himself being elevated on a lift of some sort.

Resigned to enduring more primitive repair work, Bumblebee settled low on his tires and slipped back into recharge.

* * *

Rose was practically bouncing as Josh parked his car outside the garage. She jumped out and waited impatiently for her boyfriend to follow.

"Come on, come on." She urged.

Josh laughed. "Don't let me hold you back."

Grabbing his hand, Rose raced into the garage. Paul was leaning against a bench as she dragged Josh inside. The workshop was closed since it was a weekend, letting the men spend some time working on their own vehicles.

"I told them you wouldn't be late."

She grinned. "Who would be late for this?" Paul laughed.

"You can tell this is her first car." Josh said smiling.

Rose smacked him lightly before looking back at Paul. "Is he ready?"

The older man nodded and pointed towards the back. Excitement bubbled in her chest as she hurried through the adjoining house. Travis sat in the kitchen with a bottle of beer.

"Hey, Squirt. I knew you'd turn up soon…How're ya doing, Josh?"

"Not bad. Yourself?"

Travis grinned. "I've spent the last two weeks trying to turn that wreck into a car."

Josh chuckled and sat across from him. Rose propped her hands on her waist and frowned at the boys.

"Fine, be party-poopers, I'm going out to see him."

"I betcha she's named it already." She heard Travis say as she left the kitchen.

Rose dismissed their unenthusiastic responses and aimed for the back door. She couldn't help it if she liked things to have names. It gave her the impression that she wasn't always talking to herself.

The back lot was reserved for the private use of Paul's family and his employees. Six cars sat in the sun. Five belonging to the men living there, one belonging to her.

Rose stared in wonder. It was completely transformed from the car she'd first seen two weeks ago. The sleek retro lines shone beautifully. No more rust, no more dents.

"What do you think?"

She spun and beamed at Tommy. She darted forward, throwing her arms around his neck.

"He's gorgeous! Thank you."

"I'm glad you like it." Tommy's arms squeezed her waist in response.

"I love it. I'm surprised it turned out so well." She pulled back and raised an eyebrow at him. "The engine's still in one piece?"

He grinned. "It was hard but I managed not to move it to my car."

Rose laughed and hugged him tighter.

The sound of footsteps came from the house. "Wow, it looks good."

Rose released Tommy and turned. "You sound surprised."

Josh smiled and shrugged. "You didn't say much that would give me hope."

Rose turned back to her shiny car and rested her hands on the roof. "Don't worry about them, gorgeous, I think you'll exceed expectations."

* * *

Bumblebee monitored the humans in the building with only half his attention. The other half was focused on devising the next stage of this plan. By a sheer fluke of fate, he'd been picked up by the right human. Now all he had to do was locate the glasses.

An organic energy signal came toward him swiftly. Had they finally figured out that he wasn't a regular car? Bumblebee braced for attack.

A small human rushed through the doorway and his recognition programming activated. His spark warmed as the familiar creature got closer.

The female organic, Rose, had been his constant companion. Every solar cycle she would appear and talk to him after the males had left. Mostly it would be inconsequential ramblings as she sat in his backseat with piles of paper, other times she was more eloquent and insightful. He felt as though he knew her as well as he knew his friends on Cybertron.

Her interest was baffling but welcome. His current predicament was a lonely one and her company was appreciated. Her growing attachment to him had the added bonus; she would be unlikely to get rid of him quickly or participate in something he had found on the internet called a 'demolition derby'.

Either way, he would have a chance at investigating her residence. If he ever managed to leave this car park. The humans were almost constantly watching him, especially the one called Tommy. The primitive security systems employed by these humans were also a nuisance. He had tried deactivating them in order to sneak away. Unfortunately as soon as they had been shut down an alarm had gone off and the humans had been alerted.

Three more humans had joined Rose in his proximity. They were speaking but Bumblebee wasn't really paying attention to their words. Behavior was a far better way to assess another creature's mood. Rose was highly excited about something. She was baring her dentals at him in what he'd come to recognize as a smile. The males around her were less excited yet their bodies each expressed a dominance or protectiveness over her.

Warm organic flesh pressed against his roof. "Don't worry, gorgeous, I think you'll exceed expectations."

Bee smiled on the inside, he hoped she was right. His expectations of how his mission was going to go were low at the moment. Maybe once he had the glasses in his possession and a clue as to where the Allspark was, his perspective would change.

The humans continued their conversation.

"What's your plan now?"

"I'm going to take him home." Rose replied. Bumblebee's spark leapt.

"Tell you what, I'm going to get jealous if she keeps talking to it like that." The unknown human said.

"I'm sure she loves that cat of hers more." Travis responded.

Rose turned to the males. "Prowl is my baby, I love her the most."

"I stopped being jealous of that at the beginning."

Bumblebee had to recycle that sound byte. It was just as humorous on the second and third repetitions. He made a mental note to share it with Jazz when they were reunited, he'd get a kick from hearing Prowl being referred to as a female organic. He saved the file and returned his attention to the humans.

Rose still leant against his roof. ""Is it all right for me to take it home tonight?"

"Yep, it's all set."

Bumblebee felt pleasure spread through his systems at their words, half of his task was done already.

His drivers' side door opened and a light body dropped into the seat. Controlling the instinct to eject the intruder, Bumblebee relaxed as Rose started adjusting the seat and mirrors. She made happy noises as her fingers flittered over his controls and he felt amusement seep through him at her almost sparkling-like fascination. This, Bumblebee decided, was going to be the relatively simple part of his assignment.

* * *

**You know what to do, please Review**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello! I'm so very sorry that its taken this long to post something. Anyway, I thought I'd take advantage of a public holiday and put this up for you. Today is the Melbourne Cup, the biggest horse-race in Australia, and all of metro Victoria gets the day off ^_^**

**Enjoy!!!**

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Chapter 5

_November__, 2003 – Chicago, Illinois_

Sitting alone in front of a two-storey building Bumblebee reconsidered his earlier estimation.

Five terrestrial weeks had passed and he hadn't gotten anywhere near close enough to properly search the humans belongings for the glasses. In fact he seemed to spend more time away from the dwelling than at it. Rose spent the majority of everyday at a place she termed 'the Hole', Bee later figured out that the buildings were actually an educational facility and not the sort of purgatory she referred to. After leaving 'the Hole' they would not return to her home for several hours. The usual destination would be the home of another human youth. Bumblebee was careful to monitor Rose while she was inside the school and visiting Josh or Stacy. She was his link to the glasses.

Currently, Bumblebee was plotting how to thoroughly search the garage. He'd seen inside it for the first time last week and had to reboot his processes. Dozens of shelves cluttered with human knick-knacks. That same day he heard Rose's creators talking, the female had accused the male of being a 'hoarder'.

Bee had originally focused his search on the house during the handful of hours during the night while the humans were unconscious. Now he was faced with the much larger task of rifling through the garage as well.

Night was always the best time to hunt through their possessions. As soon as the last of the lights were extinguished inside the house, Bee would activate his holoform inside the front entrance and search. It was a systematic exploration that was constantly in danger of being interrupted. He preferred not to count how many times he'd been forced to switch off his holoform because one of the humans was about to walk past or through the area Bumblebee was searching.

What should have only taken three days, maximum, had stretched far beyond what Bumblebee was comfortable with. He was sure it was only Primus' good will that he hadn't run into or found any evidence of Decepticons. They were searching for the Allspark as well; he knew that, but they also searched for Megatron. The combined prize would almost ensure that they wouldn't be far behind.

Then again, he could be wrong. Starscream's desire for ultimate power would push him to find the Allspark and lay claim to Cybertron. But if the Allspark and Megatron were together, which Bee suspected they were, then Starscream would be less enthusiastic because he'd have to retrieve Megatron as well.

Moonlight sliced through the window as his holoform materialized inside the garage. Dust motes floated through the darkness and he surveyed the room. There was human junk everywhere. Boxes of human junk. Shelves of boxes of human junk.

A silent groan twisted the plating of his miniaturized face. Why did the humans need all this stuff? He poked into a ratty looking box. Half of it was broken or defective in some way!

Bumblebee amused himself with thoughts of his friends as he started to catalogue the items he could see. Once or twice he came across something that would resemble the artifact he was looking for but each time it turned out to be something useless.

The sky was just lightening when Bumblebee decided it was time to end his search. He'd finish going through the rest the next night. Deactivating his holograph generator, he slipped into recharge certain to enjoy a few hours before Rose left for 'the Hole'.

* * *

A smile spread across Rose's face as she exited her house, there was a bite in the air and she pulled her scarf higher. Her pretty car sat gleaming, waiting for her. Sliding into the comfy leather seat she decided once again that mornings were her favorite time. Everything just seemed that much happier, the unlimited potential of a brand new day. The only cloud on her horizon was school. Winter vacation was still weeks away and nothing was able to make the days go faster.

Pulling into the school's carpark she searched for Josh's car. He usually parked towards the back and Rose followed suit. It was always easier to find a spot.

She was grabbing her bag when she heard someone say. "I thought they were joking when they said that piece of junk belonged to you."

Rose straightened and turned. Chelsea smirked at her from a shining VW Golf while her friends snickered quietly in the backseat. As Chelsea's heavily made-up eyes raked the car's flashy paint a look of derision grew there, Rose shifted into a more defensive position in front of the bright hood.

What was Chelsea doing so far from her group of sycophantic followers?

"Did that freak you call a father pick it out for you?"

The flunkies laughed, inciting Rose's temper. Her hands curled into tight fists. The urge to bloody Chelsea's perfect nose was stronger than normal.

Ever since she had tried, and failed, to get Travis to go out with her, Little Miss Bitch had gone out of her way to be as nasty and cruel to Rose as she could be. The girl would get far if she went into politics.

"Go sharpen your claws somewhere else. I'm sure there's some boy's waiting for you to be a bitch to them but I'm not interested."

Her glossy mouth opened on an outraged gasp that was echoed by her flunkies. Rose knew she shouldn't have given in to the provocation but enough was enough and she didn't want her good mood ruined by petty teenage power-plays.

Josh appeared behind her at that moment. "Morning babe." His arm wrapped around her shoulder. Chelsea glared at them before driving off. "What's her problem?"

"I think her diaphragm's twisted." Rose muttered snidely. Whoops, there goes that good mood.

Josh laughed and hugged her. "Come on, we'll be late if we don't get moving. Calculus waits for no one."

Rose groaned but allowed him to pull her along.

* * *

Another night and another set of cluttered shelves to go through. Bumblebee eyed the towering stack of human paraphernalia. It was ridiculous to him but humans weren't created with logic hard-wired into their cores. Their need to gather came from a more primitive time. That couldn't be held against them but it helped him understand why they did thing they didn't even understand.

The darkness wasn't a problem for Bumblebee; he'd just use a different spectrum to see. Dropping to his knees, he began to search through a box of tomes. Flicking through each book, Bumblebee absorbed the information in a matter of seconds. He would purge his system of the unnecessary information while he waited for Rose to finish her education tomorrow.

Reaching for the next book Bee's optics spied something familiar in a way that wasn't native to this planet.

Picking a slender book from the bottom of the box he stared at the symbol scratched into the leather cover. By itself the mark meant nothing but it was Cybertronian and that's what mattered. Opening the book, he scanned the first page. _Journal of Cptn Archibald Witwicky. 1897._

Bumblebee's spark surged as he recognized the name. Finally some progress.

Flipping through the delicate pages, he scoured each leaf for anymore familiar symbols. It wasn't until he was three quarters of the way through that the writing changed. It became messy and almost illegible. The following pages were far more promising. The human letters morphed into Cybertronian symbols. Once again he couldn't understand their meaning but he was encouraged.

Scouring through the rest of the journal proved as useless as checking the air-conditioner for life. The symbols continued in a meaningless jumble throughout the remaining pages. It was nothing but still something.

Elated yet disappointed in his discovery, Bumblebee clutched the book to his chest. He couldn't leave this kind of evidence in the open for the Decepticons to pick up. Deciding it would be safer with him, he quickly carried it out to his body.

More information would have to be gathered before he sent his next transmission back to Optimus Prime and the Ark.

The best source would be Archibald Witwicky himself but, as Bumblebee recalled from earlier researching, Captain Witwicky was dead. There was no way to speak to him.

Sighing in frustration at the sudden and annoying roadblock Bee almost considered telling Prime that this was a useless venture. Almost. A kernel of hope still burned in his spark. Optimism was a constant part of his personality and it didn't let him down now. Maybe, just maybe, there was something extra at Captain Witwicky's last residence.

Scrolling through everything is his memory banks relating to the Witwicky explorer, Bee found his next destination: _Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Psychopathic Institute for the Long-Term Insane._

The sun had come up as Bumblebee had been browsing through his processor. The front door of the house opened and Rose skipped out. She called out to someone in the house then darted towards him laughing. She settled into the driver's seat and Bumblebee knew he'd have to organize his expedition to Louisiana carefully. Rose was very protective over him. It was a strange situation; he'd never had someone care about him so much. Sure, his friends were there beside him when he needed them but Rose was different. She would take him out even if it wasn't a school day. Sometimes they would just drive around with other young humans, Josh and Stacy.

Maybe it was because he was constantly in her company that this relationship (if he could call it that) felt different; he mused as they moved into traffic. On Cybertron he'd been a scout, the most time he ever spent with other mechs was the couple of vorns he'd guarded the Allspark before Megatron had violently removed his vocal transmitter. Even then he hadn't gotten to know his fellow soldiers the way he knew Rose.

That optimistic part of him popped up and suggested he take her with him to Witwicky's grave. She wouldn't worry about him and he'd be able to protect her. Plus, there might be things he couldn't do that she could.

Bumblebee would have rolled his optics had they been active. He doubted Rose would appreciate being unceremoniously hijacked on a road trip across the country. Especially in a vehicle that was supposed to be lifeless.

Bumblebee mused over this for the rest of the day. He was desperate to continue his investigation but couldn't in good conscience abandon his duty to protect Rose and her family. The absence of Decepticons was both a blessing and a curse. He'd feel better knowing where his enemies were but couldn't deny being pleased that he hadn't seen hide or fender of them.

* * *

Rose dropped into him the next day and said. "Guess what; gorgeous…we're going on a trip."

Bee felt shock run through him. How had she found out!?

Rose continued, oblivious to his reaction. "A group of us are going up to Stacy's parent's lake house next weekend."

He calmed and listened to her talk. He didn't know why she did this, spoke to him as though he were able to respond, but he liked that she did. It made him feel less alone.

"I haven't been up there for years. It's going to be so fun. We have Friday off so we want to leave Thursday after school."

Bee's interest peaked. This could be the opportunity he'd been waiting for.

"We're picking Stacy up. Josh, Andrew and Sarah are meeting us up there on Friday morning."

His hope faded and he shifted as she changed gears. Great. A weekend away from the house and in the opposite direction he wanted to go.

Rose continued to chatter but Bumblebee wasn't paying attention. He retreated back into his processor, determined to find a solution.

* * *

**What did you think? Please Review.**

**TammyCat**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi Guys, I'm sorry it's taken so long to pit this up. I could make the usual excuses of Christmas and New Years (which was majorly awesome, what I remember anyway ^_^) but I won't. All I can claim is a brain breakdown.**

**Anyway I meant to say last time that I got the months/seasons wrong, since I live in Australia and didn't do proper research at the time…oops.**

**Enjoy and I'm sorry it took so long.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

_November, 2006 - Chicago_

Rose dumped her travel bag into the boot and waved goodbye to her parents. This weekend was going to be awesome. First: pick up Stacy. Second: Party!

Humming happily to herself, Rose didn't notice that they'd gone past Stacy's street. Laughing at her absentmindedness she looked for the next turn. Her eyes widened as the steering wheel slipped through her fingers, turning towards the interstate instead of Stacy's.

"What the hell!"

She grabbed at the wheel and yanked but it didn't budge. Stomping down on the brake did nothing. Confusion and the beginnings of fear combined in her bringing on panic. She tugged at the seatbelt and jerked at the door lock but neither gave way. Rose watched with wide eyes as the steering wheel and gear-stick moved on their own. What was going on? Since when did cars drive themselves?

She grabbed her handbag from the passenger seat and rummaged through it while still trying to gain control over her car. Her hand closed over her mobile phone and she pulled it out triumphantly. Frantically pushing buttons Rose praying she'd dialed correctly and put the phone to her ear. A moment later she heard.

"_Don't go making phony calls. Please stick to the seven digit numbers you're used to."_

* * *

Bumblebee powered down the multi-laned freeway. Rose was asleep and he could only be thankful for that. For several hours she had 'freaked out'. Blocking the signal of her cellular phone had undoubtedly made the situation worse but he needed that ambiguity. Only by keeping her restrained had he stopped her from injuring herself. It was obvious that the energy she'd expended fighting him for control had left her exhausted.

She kicked in her sleep, hitting the brake pedal.

The guilt he felt over taking her was quickly erased when he thought of the warning he'd received two days ago. The proximity alarm he had left on Mars had gone off. Optimus and the Autobots were still too far away to have triggered it. That left one alternative. Decepticons.

Bee didn't know how many had followed Megatron and the Allspark but he knew it would be safest to get Rose somewhere safe. It was only a matter of time before they figured out what Bumblebee had.

She kicked again.

He'd arranged for the rest of the Robberts family to be removed from their house in a matter of hours.

A sign on the side of the road told him they'd just entered Missouri. Just over ten hours and they would be where they needed to be.

Another kick had Bumblebee swerving. The sooner they got there the better.

* * *

Rose woke sluggishly as light hit her eyes. Her back hurt and there was a crick in her neck. What had happened? The last time she'd woken in this much pain it had been a camping trip.

Opening her eyes increased her confusion. Why was everything so blurry? As she waited for her sight to adjust, memories of the day before filtered through her brain. Without moving she tried to see as much as possible. Not much. She was in the half-reclined passenger seat facing the window.

A sound behind her caught Rose's attention. Whoever had tampered with her car had decided to join her. Feigning a sleepy stretch, she twisted and peeked at the driver. The youthful face wasn't what she had expected to see.

Bright blond hair sat in a messy mop over piercing blue eyes. Those eyes caught her and she froze, light seemed to pour from them.

"Who are you?" She whispered, unable to look away.

A small frown appeared between his brows. His mouth opened but nothing came out. The song on the radio filled with static for a moment. The boy looked at her apologetically and shrugged.

Rose frowned. There was something very odd about this situation. Beyond her being kidnapped, of course. Surprisingly she was more annoyed than frightened.

"You don't know who you are or you can't tell me?"

He paused and nodded.

She blinked and stared at her bizarre kidnapper. He watched her as well, a fact Rose found particularly disturbing as the car started to turn. The boys' hands, she finally noticed, weren't actually touching the steering wheel. They hovered just above it as it moved; obviously he wasn't paying attention to driving.

"The wheel!" She lunged for the steering wheel but was slapped back into her seat by the seat belt. The car continued to turn then straighten without the boy touching anything.

"What's going on? How are you driving without touching the wheel?"

Static filled the radio again for a moment. "Please remain calm."

Rose's eye's widened as the voice came from the radio but the boys' lips moved with each word.

What the hell!!?

Struggling to keep her breathing and heart rate under control, Rose tried to distract herself by looking outside. The hope of getting help went out the window when she saw fields and livestock. Something told her Bessie wasn't going to be much good in this situation.

She looked back at the strange boy. "Who are you?"

Saying who made her feel a whole lot less freaked that what.

The blue eyes sparkled. "It's a hologram." A brand new voice said reverently.

Rose looked around her to try and find the dickhead doing this. Finding no one she had to conclude that this was actually happening.

* * *

An hour of miming and picking up clues from radio sound-bites later, Rose understood the situation… Kind of.

Sitting cross-legged in the passenger seat staring at the human facsimile, Rose was still wrapping her brain around the fact that the boy wasn't actually real and she was sitting inside an alien.

"Can we stop at the next town?"

The hologram raised an eyebrow, questioning.

"I need to use the bathroom."

He nodded.

Rose sighed in relief and tried not to be freaked out that he wasn't watching the road.

"So…is your planet pretty." She asked searching for a conversation piece.

'_You are so beautiful to me, can't you see? You're everything I hope for, you're everything I need. You are so beautiful to me."_

Rose grinned. It was strange communicating through a radio, but so very interesting, as well.

* * *

They were passing into Louisiana when Rose's phone went off. The sudden shriek of noise made Rose jump. She looked down and groaned before answering.

"Hello?"

_"Rose Tabitha Robberts."_ Her mother's voice came through the earpiece. _"Where the heck are you? I've been trying to call you all morning. I just called Stacy to tell you we have a gas leak and she tells me you never showed up last night."_

Rose cringed. "Yeah, I've been out of reception range. I would have called but it happened so quickly. I got a call from Mary. You remember how she moved to Tennessee last year? Well, her parents are having this massive fight and she called me for help, so I turned around." She been thinking of this cover for about an hour.

_"How are you going to help when her parents are fighting?"_

"I don't know, moral support? She was crying. I wasn't thinking in the long-term."

_"You weren't thinking at all. You should have told Stacy and us that you were going to Tennessee."_

Rose nodded while glaring at the dashboard, silently blaming the car for her trouble. "I know but by the time I'd thought of it I had no reception."

_"Where are you now?"_

They turned up a long dirt road. A large house stood at the end of the drive. Rose's eyes widened. "About an hour away. I'll call you tonight Mom, ok? Love you."

_"Alright but you're in a lot of trouble when you get home. Give my love to Mary. Drive safe."_

Rose said goodbye and hung up as the car came to a stop outside a pair of tall rusty gates. "If I have to be in trouble, so do you." She grumbled at the car.

She climbed out and stared at the building beyond the fence. It was an old Plantation manor that obviously hadn't seen a caring person in at least a decade. A weather beaten sign sat just inside the gates. _Psychopathic Institute for the Long-Term Insane._

"An insane asylum in Louisiana. Why does that sound familiar?

Bumblebee revved his engine and pushed through the gates. They gave under his nudging and Rose climbed back in. They started up the inner driveway.

"Why are we here?"

The dash compartment opened and she took out the book sitting on top. "My great-grandfather's journal?" She flipped through the pages then stared at the approaching manor house. "This is where he was committed." She looked back at the steering wheel. "You think he knew where your treasure is? We're here looking for clues?"

Applause came through the radio. _'It's yours if the price is right.'_

Rose rolled her eyes and got out again. Sometimes it wasn't worth trying to communicate with the alien. She eyed the stairs warily. They looked like they would fall apart under the slightest pressure.

"I don't think it's safe for me to go in there."

The sound of gears hissing and metal sliding followed her words. Rose turned and almost fell on her butt. Towering over her was a mountain of metal. Her eyes roved up the vaguely human body and caught its bright electric blue eyes.

"Then again maybe it would be more dangerous for you."

It nodded and lowered to the ground.

Rose turned back to the house. "Ok, let's try this."

She carefully placed her foot on the bottom stair and eased her weight onto it. The wood groaned but held. Cautiously she made her way up to the veranda. By the time she reached the top Rose was surprised that all the stairs had held together with only a few ominous creaks.

"That was easier than expected."

Taking a step towards the door, Rose froze as she felt the plank sink beneath her. She'd spoken too soon. A moment later she found herself neck deep in a plantation porch.

"Help! Get me out…What the hell was that!? Something just went past my foot. Car! Help me!"

The largest hand she'd ever seen appeared next to her and she grabbed the thick fingers. Lifted out of the hole and deposited back on the ground Rose spent a couple of minutes jumping around on the spot, slapping at her muddy legs.

"Ew! Ew! What was that?"

A large finger on her shoulder stopped her jumping. The alien was pointing at her legs; she looked down expecting the worst. She heaved a sigh of relief when she didn't see a snake or spiders on her only mud up to her calves.

"You owe me a new pair of jeans."

The robot shrugged and pointed back at the building.

"You want me to do that again? Didn't you see what just happened? I got leg-molested by whatever was down there. Your turn."

Rose crossed her arms and glared at the robot. It stared back at her then lifted her into the air and deposited her inside a second story window.

"Or you could pick me up and do what you want with me." She muttered under her breath. The air shimmered beside her as a teenage boy materialized there. "If you can do that, why bring me along?"

He reached out and his hand passed through the wall.

"Ah, well that explains why I'm here."

Together they explored the upper stories, the alien alerting her if a section was too unstable. Four rooms down and Rose was feeling fairly creeped out. One room had been filled with broken furniture. Of the two rooms that had beds in them, both had chains attached to the frames.

Why had they needed manacles on the beds?

All the walls were covered with not only the scars of time and neglect but also the scratches and markings of past patients.

An excited alien drew her attention halfway down the hall. He was pointing at a placard on the wall.

"A. Witwicky." She frowned at the door. "This is my great grandfather's room."

She opened the door but didn't enter. The room was shadowy on this side of the house, the inside was similar to the others they'd investigated. Same basic bed with chains. Same deteriorated walls. And as Rose stepped into the room she felt a cold shiver run down her spine. It was most likely just because her ancestor had been kept here but she still looked around expecting more.

The hologram didn't seem to share her concerns. He flitted in and around the room studying everything he could lay his eyes on. Rose stayed near the door.

"Is there anything here for you?"

The not-really-there male didn't acknowledge her for a moment; he was busy rushing around the room peeking into corners. He examined the walls, under the bed and a small table in the corner. Fingers reached out but passed through whatever he tried to touch.

Finally the young face turned to her and Rose felt her trepidation melt at the puppy-dog eyes pointed at her.

"What do you want me to do?"

He mimed opening a desk drawer and stood back. _At least I won't have to reach through him._ Rose thought as she moved forward. _That could be weird._

The draw was stubborn when she tugged on it. The handle almost came off in her hand. Stepping back and glaring at the desk she considered her options. 1; keep pulling at it. 2; find a crowbar. 3; (if all else failed) throw it out the window and pick up the contents from the lawn.

Deciding to do all three in that order she propped her foot against the side and gripped the bottom lip of the drawer. Her shoulders strained as she pulled at the stuck wood, it gave only a little.

The hologram boy appeared in front of her, his hands moving back and forth alternately.

"What?"

'_Wiggle it, just a little bit. Let me see you wiggle it.'_

Rose stared at him for a moment before bursting into giggles. "Do it again. But dance this time."

He raised an eyebrow and nodded back at the desk.

"Alright, alright. Don't get your wires in a twist."

She repositioned herself infront of the desk and braced her foot. Wiggling the drawer like he'd said Rose managed to pull it out several inches before it stuck again. Growling softly in her throat she dug her nails into the soft underside and tugged hard. She heard an ominous crack before the tabletop came apart with a crash, sending Rose stumbling backwards into the wall, knocking the wind out of her. Chunks of wood rained down around her as air slowly returned to her lungs. The robo-human was inspecting was what left when she looked up.

"Find anything?" She asked when she could speak again. He didn't acknowledge her but continued to study the debris.

Pushing to her feet Rose joined him. A sigh escaped her. "Nothing. I have splinters in my fingers to find nothing."

Alien-boy looked disappointed and he fizzled out of sight. Rose rolled her eyes at the decidedly male sulking. Now she would have to find a way out of the dilapidated house trying to avoid the rotten floorboards.

Moving towards the door she kicked the broken tabletop as she passed it. Her foot throbbed but she saw a wad of paper bounce across the room. Frowning at it, she limped over and picked it up.

The whirring sound of gears outside caught her attention. She pushed the paper into her jacket as a large metal head appeared in the window. Actually she had never see its face up close so she could only guess that was what she was looking at now.

She wiggled her fingers at it. "Hi."

It nodded and moved away. A massive hand appeared and Rose eyed it warily. It wanted her to climb on. With a sigh she did it. Her fingers dug into the seams as it deposited her on the ground.

"Thanks." Rose's knees wobbled as she stood. She looked around the overgrown gardens "What do we do now?"

The robot started to shift and Rose stared, amazed. Metal glided and moved until all that was left was a brightly colored car. The door swung open and Rose climbed in.

They left the asylum behind and Rose watched the country pass outside the window. What a bizarre situation she was in. She'd planned the weekend to be with friends but here she was with an alien robot who had a strange obsession with her great grandfather.

* * *

"Phoney Calls" Weird Al Yankovic

"Wiggle It" 2 In A Room

**So next we'll be skipping forward a few months, I think. Please Review and I'll try and update quicker :)**

**TammyCat**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi Guys, It's been a while, I know. I'm sorry. It'll be moving a fair bit quicker now :) Thank you for waiting**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 7**

Rose woke blearily. The comforting, monotonous hum of an engine sang in the background. Half-formed thoughts ran through her mind as she began to stretch. When her hand hit a seat and her foot hit a door did those thoughts become complete and her eyes flew open. Rose tried to sit up and orient herself but she was being restrained.

What the hell? The last things she remembered was beginning to drive home after their uninformative jaunt to Louisiana. Had she fallen asleep? Why wasn't the car releasing her?

"Car? Are you there? You can let me go now."

She was thrown around as they went over a bump before the restraints were removed. She climbed over into the front passenger seat and faced the empty driver's side.

"You should at least pretend to be driving."

The teenage boy appeared and smiled at her. Rose smiled back and shook her head. It was strange how she could so easily trust an alien machine. A creature so far removed from anything she was familiar with.

Looking out the window, she saw farms and fields; they were still far from anything she recognized.

Rose turned back to the not-boy. "Do you have a name? Something I can call you other than 'car' or 'alien'? I would have asked before but we've been distracted."

The boy nodded and the radio flicked on and a classical piece flowed out. Rose listened to it for several minutes before saying apologetically. "I know that tune, but I don't know its name."

The not-boy nodded and frowned, obviously thinking. A smile broke over his face and he held out his hand. A tiny bumblebee grew from his palm and started to fly around their heads.

Rose watched it with amusement. "Your name is bee?"

His hands moved an inch apart, he then made a show of making the space between them larger.

"Bigger than bee?"

He nodded. Rose held out her hand and the little insect landed on her palm. She inspected it closely. It was fat and fuzzy, much like the bees that zoomed around her mother's flower garden.

"He's a cute little Bumble isn't he?" She said.

A second bee flew over and landed beside the first. This one was a little different. It was skinnier with a more pronounced stinger. He reached over and pointed to the first bee then to the second.

Rose frowned. "Your name is Beebee?"

He shook his head and pointed to the first again. Rose's brain clicked. "Bumblebee!"

The bees disappeared and the boy grinned happily. The child-like joy on his face made Rose smile. "It's nice to meet you, Bumblebee. What else can you tell me about what you're looking for?"

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Astonished by the young organic's ability to interpret him correctly, Bumblebee now considered how he could possibly explain about the Allspark when this planet didn't have anything remotely similar. It wasn't the first time that Bumblebee wished he had a set of archive material in his harddrive. It would be so much easier if he could just show her the Cube.

A high-pitched sound distracted Bee from his thoughts. A quick radar check showed it to be a law enforcement vehicle. Not too concerned about its appearance, Bee changed his image to one more suitable and demographically innocent. Her father.

Rose screamed softly. "How did you turn into my dad?"

Bumblebee was saved from answering by the police vehicle coming close to slamming into his aft. A quick scan told Bee why. It was a Decepticon.

Evading the enemy had always been one of Bee's skills, but that was usually in a reconnaissance situation without a passenger.

The Decepticon rammed into his bumper, causing Bee to jerk forward. He could hear Rose screaming inside him but muted his receptors, he needed to focus.

The two cars swerved over the country road as they tried to gain a more dominant position over the other.

_*Stand and fight, coward.*_

Bumblebee wanted to but knew he couldn't do that, not with Rose with him_. *Rust and die, Decepticon.*_

A dark chuckle came through his audios as he was pushed again from behind. _*You can't run forever.*_

_*I don't need forever.*_ Bumblebee replied. _*Just long enough to do this.*_

He flicked an internal switch, causing a cocktail of chemicals to filter into his fuel tank. The reaction gave Bee the added speed he needed to outdistance his enemy.

Using the extra distance, he located a viable hiding spot. Rose was still making much noise but it was second in Bumblebee's priorities. Dimming any outgoing signals Bee kept up a constant scan for the Decepticon. It was a while before he noticed Rose bashing on his dashboard. He materialized his holoform and activated the receptors inside the cab.

Rose glared at him. "Where have you been? I've been shouting at you for two hours."

He pointed to the road and channeled '_Fuck the Police'_ through the radio.

"Why was that cop trying to run us off the road?"

Bumblebee wasn't sure how to respond to her question. How could he explain about the Decepticons without the use of his voice? Bee did the only thing he could do, he shrugged. Rose frowned and crossed her arms.

Bumblebee didn't think she believed him but it was better than terrifying her with the truth. The worst part was Bee couldn't be sure the Decepticons had found out where Rose and her family lived. They'd found the last place Archibald Witwicky had lived. It was also possibly that they had tracked his signal and didn't know anything about the glasses yet.

The hopeful thought that it was a fluke encounter flashed through his mind. Bee didn't want to trust the idea but prayed that it could be true.

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Inside a government facility three men sat at a table. In front of them the table was covered with stuffed files, pictures and thick reams of paper. On the walls were blown up versions of several images. Coming out of a hazy, rocky background was a very alien monster.

One agent leaned back in his chair and cracked his knuckles. "The latest information has the robot landing in Virginia."

"From there he transformed into a car and disappeared." The second agent said staring at the map on the wall.

"Are we any closer to finding where it went to?"

"No, the alien has disappeared."

Agent Meares scowled and pushed away from the table. "There has to be a way to find and catch this thing."

The door opened and two men entered. One tall and thin, the other muscular and bald. Tension mixed with musty air as they faced off with the three agents.

"This area is authorized personnel only."

The thin man placed a briefcase on the table. "I am Agent Simmons with Sector Seven."

The three men stood. Meares eyed them carefully. His team had been told to expect these men.

"Welcome, we've been expecting you. I'm Agent Meares. This is Agent James and Agent Gates. We're told you know something about our situation."

Agent Simmons smirked. "Sector Seven was specifically created to deal with this situation. As of this moment, you have been absorbed into Sector Seven."

Meares frowned but Simmons had already turned his attention to the table. He surveyed the mess in front of him. The large table was covered with piles of pictures and data. The men had collected a lot of information.

"Gentlemen, we are going to track down and capture this alien." A thin finger stabbed at a hazy black and white picture.

"How?" Agent Gates asked. "We don't even know where it is."

Simmons patted the briefcase. "We know what it's searching for, and we can bring it to us."

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**TammyCat**

Flight of the Bumblebee - **Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov**

Fuck the Police – **Ice Cube**


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